Studying: 1 Corinthians 9-11Memorizing: Romans 1:1-11
Entertainment: 0 essentially
Thoughts: Good
He who pursues wisdom will not be disappointed. We've looked at some of the promises already mentioned.
Verse 5 promises that the one who pursues wisdom will gain discernment in the fear of the LORD and the knowledge of God. Now in verses 9 & 10 come more benefits.
"Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;" - Proverbs 2:9-10
In verse 9 we are again promised discernment, and in a variety of different areas of life.
Discernment in Righteousness - How often do we simply take for granted that we can tell right from wrong? I fear I have done it all too often, thinking I really know the right thing to do when I don't. Wisdom grants discernment in this area, to be able to look at a situation and say "this is righteous" or "this is not righteous." I look back on my life at some of the things I used to do that I don't do anymore. I'm not necessarily talking about what might be considered "wild" and "crazy" things people typically think of as sins. I'm not going to go into all of that. But what about things that many people might regard as "innocent." What about the movies I watch, the music I listen to, the jokes I laugh at, etc.? What about simply how I spend my time, computer games or browsing the internet aimlessly? Discernment helps one to understand righteousness and unrighteousness better. Grey areas become more black and white.
Discernment in Justice - Synonymous with "righteousness" perhaps. The word here is a legal term, quite literally meaning "judgment." Again, wisdom grants discernment to judge between what is true and what is false, and to judge correctly. A good judge looks at a case presented to him and his mind and his senses are tuned to look for the "signs" that might indicate guilt or innocence. A good judge learns to recognize a liar, a cheat, a swindler. A good judge learns to also recognize innocence.
A believer wise in God's ways has his heart and mind "tuned" to recognize truth from falsehood. Satan, the foe, is ever vigilant to deceive by presenting lies. He began this back in the garden with the word "Has God said..." to Eve. But a believer who pursues wisdom gains discernment to respond correctly when the deceiver says "It's not really that bad...go ahead and watch" or "No one is going to know...go ahead and look."
Discernment in Equity - Equity implies impartiality and fairness. The word here can also be translated "evenness." It is a very difficult thing to be impartial. Our natural tendencies are to lean in favor to ourselves and those things that are most familiar and friendly to us. But wisdom gives eyes to see clearly and fairly.
Discernment in Every Good Course - On a number of occasions in life I've found myself lost while driving. Being a man I, of course, don't ask for directions, but rather try to orient myself with natural landmarks. I would try road after road trying to find the right one, all the while lacking the knowledge of which road was correct. What I needed was a map. What I needed also was humility to stop and ask someone which way to go.
Wisdom asks "Which way should I go?" of God, and God promises direction. Wisdom provides a "roadmap of life" as it were, so that when the believer comes up to a fork in the road, he is able to look and say "I should not go this way. I must go this way. This is the right way."
Why does all this take place? Verse 10 answers that. One is able to do this because wisdom is in his heart and knowledge is pleasant to him. He does not despise knowledge and instruction.
No comments:
Post a Comment